Learning by the Spirit
Inviting the Holy Ghost to Teach You
Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ want to reveal the truth to us by the power of the Holy Ghost. This lesson will help you understand how the Holy Ghost helps you learn truth and receive personal revelation. You will also learn how to invite the Holy Ghost to teach you and how to recognize when you are learning by the Spirit.
Student preparation: Invite students to read John 14:26–27 and think about experiences when they have felt or learned something from the Holy Ghost in the ways the Savior described in these verses.
Possible Learning Activities
Read aloud the following scenario. Then allow students time to ponder their desire for and confidence in recognizing and learning by the Spirit.
Imagine that you invited a friend to take seminary for the first time. In one of your friend’s first seminary experiences, the teacher explained the importance of inviting the Holy Ghost to be the true teacher during seminary and personal scripture study. The teacher testified that through the Holy Ghost students can receive personal messages from Heavenly Father that are not even said aloud in class. Your friend asked you what it means to learn from the Holy Ghost.
As you think about how to respond, ponder the following questions. Be mindful of thoughts and feelings that come as you study this lesson.
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How do you think your friend’s experience in seminary would change if she felt God were communicating with her as she studied the gospel?
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How confident do you feel in recognizing the influence of the Holy Ghost in your life and inviting Him to teach you?
What does the Spirit do for us?
As you study the gospel, the Holy Ghost can give you personal revelation. President Russell M. Nelson taught:
You don’t have to wonder about what is true [see Moroni 10:5]. You do not have to wonder whom you can safely trust. Through personal revelation, you can receive your own witness that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, that Joseph Smith is a prophet, and that this is the Lord’s Church. Regardless of what others may say or do, no one can ever take away a witness borne to your heart and mind about what is true.
I urge you to stretch beyond your current spiritual ability to receive personal revelation. … Oh, there is so much more that your Father in Heaven wants you to know. …
… The most important truth the Holy Ghost will ever witness to you is that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. He lives!
(Russell M. Nelson, “Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2018, 95–96)
Consider reminding students about the student preparation invitation at the beginning of this lesson. Rather than answering the next two questions, students could share insights from their preparation.
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What stands out to you from President Nelson’s statement?
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Why do you think the most important truth the Holy Ghost can witness is that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God?
Invite students to respond to the following question in partnerships or small groups. Walk around the room and listen to responses to evaluate student understanding of this truth.
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How would you summarize for your friend in one to two sentences the importance of personal revelation in her gospel study?
How can we recognize the influence of the Holy Ghost?
Imagine that your friend begins to show sincere interest in receiving revelation from God. But she tells you, “I’m not sure if I have ever received revelation before. How can I recognize the Holy Ghost?”
To help you respond, read the following scripture passages. Note how the influence of the Spirit is described.
Consider writing the following references (or others of your choosing) on the board and inviting students to choose one or two references to study. Invite them to write on the board next to the corresponding reference what they learn about the influence of the Holy Ghost.
To help students answer the following questions, consider inviting them to choose a scripture passage and use it to teach a friend about the Holy Ghost.
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Which of the descriptions that you read about the Holy Ghost would you want to share with your friend? Why?
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How would you describe the ways you have experienced the influence of the Holy Ghost while studying the gospel?
The previous question can be an important part of this lesson. Be sure to allow students sufficient time to answer. Consider asking students follow-up questions about what they did to prepare themselves for their experiences of feeling the Spirit’s influence.
How do we invite the Holy Ghost to teach us?
Our Heavenly Father loves us and wants to speak to us through the still, small voice of the Holy Ghost. But we must each decide if we are willing to earnestly seek for revelation from Him. In addition, when we meet as a family, class, or ward, our desires, attitudes, and actions can affect those around us.
Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught some important ways we can invite the Holy Ghost to teach us.
Receiving the Holy Ghost starts with our sincere and constant desire for His companionship in our lives. …
Our invitations for the companionship of the Holy Ghost occur in many ways: through the making and keeping of covenants; by praying sincerely as individuals and families; by searching the scriptures diligently; through strengthening appropriate relationships with family members and friends; by seeking after virtuous thoughts, actions, and language; and by worshipping in our homes, in the holy temple, and at church.
(David A. Bednar, “Receive the Holy Ghost,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2010, 96)
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Which of the attitudes or actions Elder Bednar mentioned have helped you invite the Spirit into your life?
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How have you seen someone’s attitude or choices make it easier (or harder) for others in a family or class to be taught by the Spirit?
Consider inviting students to share how they want classroom behavior to be and how they will invite the Spirit to be the teacher in class.
Students can reflect on what they have learned in this lesson by responding to the following questions in their study journals.
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How has your desire or ability to learn by the Spirit been influenced by what you studied today?
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What would you like to learn more about concerning personal revelation and being taught by the Spirit?
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What will you do at home and in seminary to invite the Spirit to be with you as you study the New Testament?
Encourage students to record their answers to the previous question in a place they can refer to throughout the year.
Bear testimony that God desires to speak to each student through the Holy Ghost.
Commentary and Background Information
Is the Lord really willing to reveal things to me?
President Russell M. Nelson explained:
One of the things the Spirit has repeatedly impressed upon my mind … is how willing the Lord is to reveal His mind and will. The privilege of receiving revelation is one of the greatest gifts of God to His children.
(Russell M. Nelson, “Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2018, 94)
How can I invite the Holy Ghost to teach me?
Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles helped answer this question.
It requires calling upon God and learning how to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to the center of our lives. If we do so, I promise that the influence of the Holy Ghost will bring truth to our heart and mind and will bear witness of it, teaching all things.
(Ulisses Soares, “How Can I Understand?,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2019, 7)
What might distract me from receiving revelation the Lord desires to send me?
Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared this insight:
If something we think, see, hear, or do distances us from the Holy Ghost, then we should stop thinking, seeing, hearing, or doing that thing. If that which is intended to entertain, for example, alienates us from the Holy Spirit, then certainly that type of entertainment is not for us. Because the Spirit cannot abide that which is vulgar, crude, or immodest, then clearly such things are not for us.
(David A. Bednar, “That We May Always Have His Spirit to Be with Us,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2006, 30)
President M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:
Too many allow themselves to almost live online with their smart devices—screens illuminating their faces day and night and earbuds in their ears blocking out the still, small voice of the Spirit. If we do not find time to unplug, we may miss opportunities to hear the voice of Him who said, “Be still, and know that I am God” [Psalm 46:10].
(M. Russell Ballard, “Precious Gifts from God,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2018, 10)
How can I recognize revelation to my mind?
The Prophet Joseph Smith taught:
A person may profit by noticing the first intimation of the spirit of revelation; for instance, when you feel pure intelligence flowing into you, it may give you sudden strokes of ideas.
(Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 132)
Elder Richard G. Scott (1928–2015) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared this insight:
An impression to the mind is very specific. Detailed words can be heard or felt and written as though the instruction were being dictated.
(Richard G. Scott, “Helping Others to Be Spiritually Led” [address given to religious educators at a symposium on the Doctrine and Covenants and Church history, Brigham Young University, Aug. 11, 1998]; see also Teaching Seminary: Preservice Readings [2004], 55)
How can I tell the difference between promptings from the Holy Ghost and my own thoughts?
Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Susan Bednar, helped answer this question in the video “Elder and Sister Bednar—Recognizing the Spirit” (time code 0:00 to 5:13), located on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.